So, in a subsequent scene: "The hoarded plague of the gods But the regulation now proposed, in my opinion, renders any change unnecessary. MALONE. 530. Who, sensible, out-dares- -] The old editions read: Who sensibly out-dares Thirlby reads: Who, sensible, outdoes his senseless sword. He is followed by the later editors, but I have taken only his correction. JOHNSON. The thought seems to have been adopted from Sidney's Arcadia, edit. 1633, p. 293: "Their very armour by piece-meale fell away from them and yet their flesh abode the wounds constantly, as though it were lesse sensible of smart than the senselesse armour, &c." STEEVENS. 534. was: -Cato's wish:- -] In the old editions it Calvus' wish: Plutarch, in the Life of Coriolanus, relates this as the opinion of Cato the Elder, that a great soldier should carry terrour in his looks and tone of voice; and the poet, hereby following the historian, is fallen into a great chronological impropriety. THEOBALD. 541. make remain] Is an old manner of speaking, which means no more than remain. HANMER. 591. Confound an hour,] Confound is here used not in its common acceptation, but in the sense of— to expend. Conterere tempus. So, in K. Henry IV. part i. act i. line 434. MALONE. He did confound the best part of an hour, &c. STEEVENS. 611. -to bedward.] So, in Albumazar, 1610: "Sweats hourly for a dry brown crust to bedward." STEEVENS. 616. Ransoming him, or pitying,] i. e. remitting his ransom. JOHNSON. 634. -on what side, &c] So in the old transla tion of Plutarch: "Martius asked him howe the order of the enemies battell was, and on which side they had placed their best fighting men. The consul made him aunswer that he thought the bandes which were in the vaward of their battell, were those of the Antiates, whom they esteemed to be the warlikest men, and which for valiant corage would geve no place to any of the hoste of their enemies. Then prayed Martius to be set directly against them. The consul granted him, greatly praysing his corage." STEEVENS. 637. Antiates,] The old copy reads-Antients, which might mean veterans; but a following line, as well as the previous quotation, seems to prove Antiates to be the proper reading. "Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates." STEEVENS. 639. Their very heart of hope] The same expression is found in Marlowe's Lust's dominion: -thy desperate arm "Hath almost thrust quite through the heart of hope." MALONE. 645. And that you not delay the present;—] Delay, for let slip. WARBURTON. 646. swords advanc'd,- -] That is, swords lifted high. JOHNSON. 657. Lesser his person than an ill report;] The old copy has lessen; I suspect the authour wrote: Less in his person than in ill report. That is; if any one here esteems his reputation above his life. So, in Troilus and Cressidae: "If their be one among the fair'st of Greece, "That holds his honour higher than his ease—” If lesser be admitted, regard or some synonymous word is required, instead of fear, to make the passage MALONE. sense. 670. -Please you to march; And four shall quickly draw out my command Coriolanus may mean; that as all the soldiers have offered to attend him on this expendition, and he wants only a part of them, he will submit the selection to four indifferent persons, that he himself may escape the charge of partiality. If this be the drift of Shakspere, he has expressed it with uncommon obscurity. The old translation of Plutarch only says, "Wherefore, with those that willingly offered themselves to followe him he went out of the cittie." STEEVENS. 676. the ports—]i. e. the gates. STEEVENS. 698. Wert thou the Hector, That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny,] The Romans boasted themselves descended from the Trojans; how then was Hector the whip of progeny? It must mean the whip with which the Trojans scourged the Greeks, which cannot be but by a very unusual construction, or the author must have forgotten the original of the Romans; unless whip has some meaning which includes advantage or superiority, as we say he has the whip-hand, for he has the advantage. JOHNSON, Schoolboys at this day use a similar expression:"He is the crack of the school." MALONE. You have, to my shame, sent me help, which I must condemn as intrusive, instead of applauding it as necessary. STEEVENS. 702. If I should tell thee, &c.] So, in the old translation of Plutarch: "There the consul Cominius going vp to his chayer of state, in the presence of the whole armie, gaue thankes to the goddes for so great, glorius, and prosperous a victorie: then he spake to Martius, whose valliantnes he commended beyond the moone, both for that he him selfe sawe him doe with his eyes, as also for that Martius had reported vnto him. So in the ende he willed Martius, he should choose out of all the horses they had taken of their enemies, and of all the goodes they had wonne (whereof there was great store) tenne of euery sorte which he liked best, before any distribution should be made to other. Besides this great honorable offer he had made him, he gaue him in testimonie that he had wonne that daye the price of prowes aboue all other, a goodly horse with a capparison, and all furniture to him: which the whole armie beholding, dyd marvelously praise and commend. But Martius stepping forth, told the consul, he most thanckefully accepted the gifte of his horse, and was a glad man besides, that his seruice had deserued his generalls commendation: and as for his other offer, which was rather a mercenary reward, than an honourable recompence, he would none of it, but was contented to haue his equall parte with other souldiers." STEEVENS. 708. And, gladly quak'd, -] i. e. thrown into grateful trepedation. To quake is used likewise as a verb active by T. Heywood, in his Silver age, 1613: "We'll quake them at that bar "Where all souls wait for sentence." STEEVENS. 715. Here is the steed, we the caparisons!] This is an odd encomium. The meaning is, this man performed the action, and we only filled up the show. JOHNSON. 718. -a charter to extol- -] A privilege to praise her own son. JOHNSON. 735. Should they not,] That is, not be remembered. 749. the old copy: JOHNSON. -When drums and trumpets shall, &c.] In -when |